Sana plays down PTI\u2019s \u2018Jail Bharo\u2019 movement, says 100-150 courted arrest 80% of whom seek release
\n ISLAMABAD
\nInterior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday said that the government will first direct Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers – who voluntarily presented themselves for arrests – to far-off jails before sending them to prisons in Lahore or Rawalpindi.
\nSpeaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that between 100 to 150 people have thus far courted arrests as part of the PTI\u2019s \u2018Jail Bharo\u2019 movement — a drive that seeks to mark a protest against the government\u2019s policies and to put pressure on the ruling coalition to announce elections.
\n\u201cEighty per cent of the arrested ones are asking to be released,\u201d said Sanaullah as he revealed that all participants of the PTI\u2019s drive have been taken into custody for 30 days.
\n\u201cYou wished to go to jail, so you have been sent there,\u201d he said mockingly, \u201cwe are having you visit jails so that you can acquaint yourselves with the conditions there\u201d.
\nIt may be noted that several petitions have been filed at the Lahore High Court (LHC), expressing fears that the arrested PTI leaders and workers may be falsely accused of involvement in unlawful activities to cause them \u201cmaximum harm\u201d, adding that they have been transported to \u201csome unknown place\u201d to \u201ctorture\u201d them.
\nWithout referring to the matter that remains subjudice, Sanaullah said \u201cwe will first fill jails in far-off areas and afterward fill the jails of Lahore and Rawalpindi\u201d. \u201cWe hold the judiciary in utmost respect and regard,\u201d he added as he stressed that \u201cweakening\u201d the judiciary would be synonymous with \u201cincreasing the difficulties of the country\u201d.
\nHowever, the interior minister simultaneously stressed that \u201cbench-fixing\u201d allegations must be probed, hinting at a series of controversial audio leaks attributed to former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.
\nSanaullah urged the apex court to take suo motu notice over the alleged close ties that Elahi maintains with a Supreme Court judge.
\nTurning his attention towards former premier Imran Khan, he said that \u201che is a trouble-maker, and never once did something for the betterment of the country. He noted that first Imran was bringing a sea of people to tread on the capital, then he said he was going to fill the jails, \u201cbut now the people know him for what he is\u201d. Sanaullah alleged that Imran was \u201cspreading instability in the country\u201d and called the \u2018Jail Bharo\u2019 movement a \u201cbig walk of shame\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sana plays down PTI\u2019s \u2018Jail Bharo\u2019 movement, says 100-150 courted arrest 80% of whom seek release ISLAMABAD Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday said that the government will first direct Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers – who voluntarily presented themselves for arrests – to far-off jails before sending them to prisons in Lahore or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1446],"class_list":{"0":"post-316197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-rana-sanaullah"},"yoast_head":"\n